


There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.

by sullacat



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-20
Updated: 2011-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:17:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sullacat/pseuds/sullacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An away mission triggers nightmares, and Jim needs his doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hurt/Comfort Bingo: Insomnia. I do not own any of these characters. No infringement intended.

It always started the same...

 _"Not so smug now, are you, Captain." The leader of the tribe walked in front of Jim, his voice low and cold, nothing like the fawning sycophant he'd been a few hours earlier. "Federation dogs are always the same. You act as if you want to observe, with your polite smiles and your prime directive. But you would remake us in your image given half the chance."_

 _"That's not true," Jim murmured, trying to work his hands free from the ropes that bound him to the wall._

 _"Your men killed one of our warriors. Our custom demands a blood payment. Would you deny us-"_

 _"It was an accident," Jim repeated, closing his eyes. "That kid shot himself, he shouldn't have been holding our phaser. " Fucking stupid mistake by one of his red shirts, and now Jim had to make amends. "Our doctor was trying to save him! Can you see that, all he was doing was trying to save your man's life? You can't-"_

 _"But we can," came a female voice. Turning the corner, a old female dressed in a ceremonial robe drew out a long knife, and from this distance Jim could see how the blade was sharp. Fuck, he thought, his eyes widening as he pulled harder on the ropes. Then he saw Bones, arms bound to his body, being led in behind her. She slunk behind Bones, who was trying hard not to look scared as he stared at the ground in front of him._

 _"Get away from him," Jim said, his voice low and tight._

 _She cackled low, one bony hand reaching to hold onto Bones' shoulder. She ran her knife across his cheek, the tip leaving a trail of red behind._

 _"I mean it, get away from him!" Jim called out, the panic evident in his voice now as she held the knife to his throat. "Don't- don't!" Please dear God, not Bones, not him..._

 _At that moment Bones looked up, and their eyes met. Something sweet and sad had replaced all the fear and Jim thought he heard Bones whisper, "It's okay."_

 _That must have angered her, because that hand gripped the knife hard, and pressed into his throat. All the air left his lungs, and Jim felt his legs fall out from underneath him, the ground opening up and swallowing him whole- then that familiar feeling, the tickle in his belly that spread warm. Dematerializing.  
_

He woke up heaving, unable to catch his breath. Even in the dark of his quarters, he knew it wasn't very late, that he hadn't been asleep too long. "Computer, time?"

"It is 0048," the cool female voice replied. He lay back down, pulling the pillow over his head, but that didn't help much. It had been a week since the away mission, and every night he tried to fall asleep, only to be woken by that same dream.

"Lights, fifty percent." Jim rummaged around under his bed for his running shoes. Last night, he'd wandered down to Engineering, helping the gamma shift out with some inventory. The night before, he made an impromptu tour of Stellar Cartography. Tonight, he decided, as he laced up his shoes and pulled on an old t-shirt, tonight he'd hit the gym.

Usually Jim liked some music playing while he ran, making endless circles around the track in the ship's gym, but tonight all he had was the sound of his own breathing, loud exhales in time with the cadence of his steps. He wasn't sure how long he had been there, long enough to have broken a sweat when he looked up and saw someone standing in his path.

Not just someone. Bones, wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, his hair laying in all directions, as if he'd just been woken up from sleep. "Hey," Jim said, acting as if there was nothing strange about running at two in the morning.

"What's going on, Captain?" Bones began slowly, as if concerned. "It's a little late to be out here, dontcha think?"

"I dunno," Jim answered, a tight casualness to his voice. "Not too many people around to bother me. Not that you're a bother," he added, that feeling of inserting his foot into his mouth yet again. Always seemed to happen when Bones was around.

He could still see the traces of the scratch on his neck, the fine white line left by the regen unit belying how deep the laceration had been, how close that knife had been to his jugular vein. Millimeters away from death, that's how close Bones had been, because Jim was cocky and confident and didn't think anything could ever happen to him. "What are you doing up?" Jim asked, curious.

"I came to get you, "Bones said, glancing back over his shoulder at the door. "C'mon."

"I'm good," Jim told him, backing away.

"Bullshit," Bones replied. "You haven't slept in days. Now, you can come with me and we can talk about it, or I can sedate you and have Spock take over while you're getting your shit back together."

"You wouldn't-"

"The hell I would. You may not see the problem, but you were barely coherent in today's briefing." The door opened and two women entered the gym, heading for the pool. Jim and Leonard looked up at them, acknowledging them with a nod before Leonard continued talking, his voice lower. "Spock said you kept asking the same question over and over again during your meeting. I bet you haven't had a decent meal in three days. Now," he added, "you can come easy or you can come hard, but one way or another, Jim, you are coming with me."

God fucking dammit. Jim had known he wouldn't be able to keep it up, this frantic pace before he crashed, but right now, fighting with Bones was the last thing he wanted to do. "Fine," Jim said, feeling that knot in his stomach. "Just... no Sickbay."

"Okay. Your room or my room."

Jim thought about the nightmares. "Your room."

They walked in silence to Leonard's room, cool and dimly lit. "Now," he said, marching Jim over to the sofa. "Tell me what's wrong."

Jim scrubbed his face with his hand. "Can't sleep."

"Are you worried about something?" Bones asked, reaching for a scanner that was on his table. He turned it on, the whirring noise startling Jim, who was beginning to doze off on Bones' sofa. "You feeling bad?"

"No, not like that." He looked at Bones, so close in the dark that his eyes seemed to give off a light of their own. "I, uh, been having nightmares."

"Oh." Bones put the scanner down after giving it a quick glance. "You wanna beer?"

But Jim just shook his head. "I just wanna sleep."

"What's going on, Jim? Can you tell me about it?" Bones asked, leaning back on the far end of the sofa. "You know you can tell me anything."

Jim shook his head, looking again at Bones. Even now, in the dark, it was mocking him, that line on his neck, that would be a little scar, a reminder for all time how close he'd come to losing his Bones. Reaching out, he traced it with his finger, ignoring the shocked look on Bones' face, the little breath he exhaled at Jim's touch. "Jesus, Jim, you can't keep beating yourself up over that."

"I almost lost you." _Almost lost everything._

"But you didn't."

"Only because Spock saved your life." He'd saved them both, with the transporter team, cutting through the interference to lock on their signals and beam them out. But right now, Jim didn't hold much stock in his own life. "You were bleeding, do you know how fucking much you were bleeding?" It was on the transporter pad, dripping down Bones' blue science shirt. All over Jim's hands.

Bones looked away. "It looked worse than it was."

"Stop it!" Jim called out. "You were going to die because I fucked up. And now, every time I close my eyes I see you, looking at me. You told me it would be okay." Jim heard his voice getting louder. "Why did you say that?"

It was a moment before Bones answered. "I didn't want you to worry," Bones said, with a quiet finality. "I didn't want you to hate yourself if something happened."

"I don't know what I would have done," Jim said, wringing his hands together.

Bones covered them with his own. "I'm okay. We're okay." Both of them looked down at their linked fingers, lacing together. "Look, do you want to stay here tonight? Maybe... it will-"

"I don't want to go to my room," Jim said softly, not looking at Bones, feeling too young for this, more raw and open than he had in years.

"Take off your shoes," Bones told him, standing and pulling Jim to his feet. They made their way to Bones' messy bed, and Jim could tell where Bones had been sleeping before he'd left in a hurry.

Jim pulled his shirt off, smelling the sweat from his run. "Lemme just-" he pointed at the bathroom. He accepted the clean boxers from Bones, and spent five minutes under hot water, a little grin on his face as he used Bones' soap, the familiar woodsy scent relaxing him in a way he hadn't expected. When he emerged, the room was dark and he felt guilty, seeing Bones already in bed, sleeping. Fuck, why was he here? Starship captains needed to be stronger than this, not panic like a child just because his best friend was nearly killed.

It was almost as if Bones could hear his thoughts. "C'mere," Jim heard from the far side of the bed. Jim padded over, slipping between the sheets, making sure there was plenty of room between them. Nothing to give away what he was feeling. But no sooner had Jim pulled the sheets up than Bones rolled over to one side, looking at Jim from his side of the bed. "Hey. Tired?"

"Yeah," Jim murmured. "Thanks for this. I just... I'm sorry."

"Everyone had nightmares, Jim. Its okay."

"No, that's not what I mean." Jim sighed deeply, his heart racing as he reached out and touched Bones' cheek. "You nearly died."

"But I didn't."

"But you could have. What would happen to me without you?" he asked, watching as Bones covered that hand with his own. "What if something happened before I could tell you..." He felt Bones moving in the bed toward him, strong arms wrap tight around him, soft lips pressed against the back of his neck and Jim wondered why he had ever been afraid of _this_.

"I tell you what," Bones told him, whispering into his ear. "You get some sleep, right here with me," he pulled Jim even that much closer, "and when you wake up in the morning, I'll tell you first."

Jim had to chuckle at that. Leonard McCoy was even more guarded with his feelings than Jim Kirk. "Promise?"

"Promise, darlin'," Bones murmured against his skin. "Promise you that and more. No more hiding." With that, Jim let himself go, the scent of Bones on his pillow and the arms twined around his waist enough to keep the nightmares away. As he fell asleep, Jim felt Bones' lips on his temple. "Love you, Jim," whispered too soft to be heard clear, but Jim's lips curled up into a smile and he fell asleep, his thoughts filled with only the sweetest dreams.


End file.
